Friends of Eclipse/Funds Allocation

In June 2010, the Eclipse Board of Directors passed a resolution calling for the creation of a governance process for transparently allocating the Friends of Eclipse funds. This document describes the process for allocating those funds.

Contents

Background

The Eclipse Foundation receives donations from individuals through the Friends of Eclipse programme. Those donations are used to fund various activities undertaken by the Eclipse Foundation in support of the Eclipse community. Some portion of those funds are allocated for grants in direct or indirect support of Eclipse projects and community.

How Much Money is available?

The exact amount varies from year-to-year, dependent on the amount of donations received. The table below provides specifics.

How can the Money be used?

Funds can be used to support purchases and activities that benefit (directly or indirectly) the Eclipse community. Examples include:

Any allocation is subject to any restrictions defined by the Eclipse Bylaws, and Board Directives. For example, According to the Bylaws (section 11.4), we cannot fund member (includes committer member) work or travel expenses. We could, however, fund student work along the lines of the Summer of Code initiative.

Who Decides?

The elected Committer Directors (aka. "Committer Reps") decide how funds will be allocated on a quarterly basis. The exact dates are listed in the table below.

How do I Apply?

Open a bug against Community/FoE Disbursements. Provide as much information about your request as possible in the summary. Please keep in mind that the bug must be made publicly available, so avoid including any personal information or information that should otherwise be kept private.

Be prepared to answer questions and otherwise interact with the Committer Reps through this bug. The community at large is encouraged to participate in this process, but the it is the Committer Reps that will make final decisions.

If you request is denied and the bug is closed, please feel free to reopen it (essentially reapply for the next round). You do not have to restart from scratch.

How do I get the Money?

Once your application has been approved, contact EMO. Please cite the bug number in your message.

Dates and Amounts

Money is allocated mid-quarter. Note that we've just started this and timing is subject to change as we evolve our understanding of the community's needs.